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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22666843">The king and the Archangel</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantasticoncer/pseuds/Fantasticoncer'>Fantasticoncer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Angels in Middle-Earth [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Christian Tradition Lore &amp; Folklore, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angel Wings, Angel/Human Relationships, Developing Relationship, Evil Angel, F/M, Female Friendship, Fluff and Angst, Love Confessions, Male-Female Friendship, Protective Gabriel, Protective Legolas Greenleaf, Protective Lucifer, Return of the King, Sister-Sister Relationship, Slow To Update, True Mates</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:08:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,870</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22666843</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantasticoncer/pseuds/Fantasticoncer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The days are growing darker and the fate of Middle-Earth is in the balance. It is up to the remainder of the Fellowship and their friends to try and stop Sauron from taking over Gondor: the last free kingdom of men. </p><p>But the Fellowship isn't the only ones who have celestial help as two angels have joined Sauron and Saruman to try and stop Lucifer from succeeding in her mission and return to Heaven. </p><p>In the meantime, Aragorn and Lucifer as well as Gabriel and Legolas have to face their growing feelings for each other and what will happen if they succeed in their quest and Lucifer and Gabriel have to leave forever</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aragorn | Estel/Original Female Character(s), Legolas Greenleaf/Original Female Character(s), Merry Brandybuck &amp; Original Female Character(s), Pippin Took &amp; Original Female Character(s), Éowyn/Faramir (Son of Denethor II)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Angels in Middle-Earth [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1468724</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Awkward family reunion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise</p>
<p>Not long after the successful battle at Helms Deep, the remainder of the Fellowship, as well as Théoden and Éomer were riding through Fangorn forest to Isengard. At the wall, they saw Merry and Pippin smoking and having a good time. Pippin laughed loudly as Merry stood up and started to speak. "Welcome my loAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!" He screamed as Lucifer flew up from her spot behind Aragorn, grabbed him and Pippin and flew into the sky while hugging them.</p>
<p>"<em>Never</em>. Ever scare me like that again! Understood?" She asked sternly and both hobbits immediately nodded as the fallen Archangel slowly lowered herself back to the ground. The others simply smiled chuckled at seeing Lucifer's overjoyed reaction to reuniting with the hobbits. Aragorn smiled as well at seeing her so happy, his heart beating faster at seeing her smile and hug Merry and Pippin even tighter, until the hobbits squirmed and asked for air. She finally put them down again as Gimli scolded them for sending them on a pointless goose chase. </p>
<p>Once everything had settled down, Merry and Pippin climbed on the horses of Gandalf and Éomer as they finally continued further. A tree like creature greeted them and both Lucifer and Gabriel tried not to stare. "Young master Gandalf and friends. I'm glad you've come. Wood and water, stock and stone. I can master. But there is a wizard to manage here, locked in his tower and he has two mysterious friends with him." The creature, Treebeard, warned them</p>
<p>"Show yourself." Aragorn whispered, but Gandalf warned him that even defeated, Saruman was still a force to be reckoned with. "You have fought many wars and slain many men, Théoden king and made peace afterwards. Can we not take counsel as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace, you and I?"" A deep voice asked as a figure appeared on top of the tower.<em> 'So that is Saruman.'</em> Lucifer thought.</p>
<p>Théoden called the evil wizard out for his actions and the people that had died because of them, which was a very brave thing to do in Gabriel's and even Lucifer's minds. Saruman scoffed, before his eyes found the red hair of Lucifer. "Ah. The Fallen Daughter. Do you have any idea what kind of monster you have surrounded yourself with, Gandalf?" He asked with scorn in his voice and Lucifer stiffened, knowing that he was talking about her and considering the looks that Gabriel and the Fellowship were giving her, so did they.</p>
<p>"I rather be friends with her than with you, Saruman. Despite being reluctant in the beginning, Lucifer has shown true loyalty to her friends, which is more than I can say for you." Gandalf stated. Lucifer smiled at him in gratitude. Saruman scoffed again. His new allies had told him about Lucifer and her weaknesses. "We'll see about that." He replied before throwing out an arm.</p>
<p> Lucifer felt his magic wrap around her extremely tight and lift her from the saddle."Lucifer!" Gabriel shouted as she flew up as well and tried to get her sister out of the wizard's grip, but to no avail. Thinking of something else, Gabriel flew back down The magic lifted Lucifer up, until she was at eye-level with Saruman. "You do know that you could've asked me to come up? " Lucifer asked sarcastically, her voice a bit strained by the magic. </p>
<p>Saruman simply made the grip tighten even more, making her groan and squirm in pain."Lucifer." Aragorn breathed as the others could only watch helplessly. Even Gandalf couldn't do anything as he would risk hurting Lucifer as well. "Join us, Lucifer and get more power than you could've ever imagined. You could have more power than your father. Together, the three of us can rule Middle-Earth. We can become all-" Saruman started before Lucifer interrupted him, her voice a bit strained. </p>
<p>"Powerful. Crush the lesser races. Conquer Middle-Earth. Unimaginable power. Unlimited rice pudding. Etc. Etc." She said, mocking him despite her situation."No, thank you." She continued and Saruman hummed in disappointment. "Pity. Then, I guess that we have no use for you anymore." He said, before he went to tighten the magical grip even more. </p>
<p>Just as Lucifer was starting to lose consciousness, Saruman heard the sound of wings behind him.Turning around, he saw a flash of gold rushing towards him, before getting tackled and feeling something cut in his stomach. He fell to his knees, blood gushing from his wound, before he managed to heal it. The magical grip on Lucifer disappeared and she started to fall down, not aware enough to realise what was going on.</p>
<p>The Fellowship all let out shocked gasps and Gandalf was about to use his magic to catch her, when Gabriel was faster. The younger Archangel sheathed her sword after she had cut Saruman and quickly caught her older sister, safely bringing the barely conscious Lucifer down to the ground. Without thinking, Aragorn shifted backwards in his saddle and reached out to Lucifer. Gabriel gently helped him get the older Archangel in front of him in the saddle and he wrapped an arm around her to keep her secure. </p>
<p>Lucifer leaned her head against Aragorn's chest, not fully aware of where she was, but feeling safer than ever. With her secured, everyone glared at Saruman. Gabriel hovered in front of her sister and gripped the hilt of her sword, daring the wizard to try that again. She really wanted to kill him, but Gandalf told her that Saruman had valuable information.</p>
<p>After realising this was what he wanted, Saruman showed them an object that Gandalf had called a palantir. "Something festers in the heart of Middle-Earth. Something that you have failed to see. But the Great Eye has seen it. Even now he presses his advantage. His attack will come soon. You're all going to die." He stated and Gabriel let out a growl as her golden eyes flashed.</p>
<p>Aragorn unconsciously tightened his grip on Lucifer at his words. You cannot think that this ranger will ever sit on the throne of Gondor. This exile, crept fron the shadows, will never be crowned king." The insane wizard continued. Aragorn glared at him, before feeling Lucifer wake up more. "Yes he will and he will be a better leader than you will ever be." She stated, her voice still weak. He smiled a bit while Saruman scoffed as Gandalf rode closer to the tower. Saruman scorned his old friend's mercy, before sending a ball of fire towards Gandalf.</p>
<p>Gabriel was about to intervene, when she saw that it didn't harm her friend. With a single sentence, Gandalf broke the evil wizard's staff. Three men appeared next to Saruman. One of them was Wormtongue and only two people knew who the other men were. "Uriel and Zachariah. So, you're the ones betraying our Father. For some reason, I'm not surprised." Gabriel commented with a raised eyebrow at seeing her younger brothers. </p>
<p>"The only one who has betrayed our Father, is that abomination that you're defending." Uriel hissed. Gabriel rolled her eyes at his tone. Uriel had never liked Lucifer, even before she fell. "Father decreed that Lucifer got one more chance to redeem herself and considering that you are apparently are trying your hardest to stop her from doing exactly that, you're disobeying His direct order, which is treason. Plain and simple." She replied. </p>
<p>"I would say that we're doing Him a favour. That monster should never enter Heaven ever again. Imagine the stain in its perfect image. Besides, there is no way that she will ever stay good, so we're just saving Him from the disappointment when she disobeys once again." Zachariah said in a slimy tone. Lucifer looked down at his words and Aragorn growled as he tightened his grip on her. Zachariah raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I see that The Disappointment actually managed to find her Mate. Too bad that he's going to die." He stated with a smirk. </p>
<p>Gabriel had enough. She shouted something in the language of the angels and Uriel and Zachariah disappeared with screams of outrage. Gabriel immediately sagged in exhaustion "What did you do?" Legolas asked as he helped her back in the saddle. "I used my superior rank and the tiny bit of power that I still have to banish them to a different place. It only works once, until we get back to heaven." She answered, resting against his back.</p>
<p>Shocked by the disappearance of his allies, Saruman was silent until he heard Théoden try to convince Wormtongue to come down and join them. He snapped out of it and let out a loud scoff, before hitting the man. Turning back to the group on the flooded grounds, he didn't see Wormtongue getting out a dagger, until it was too late and he got stabbed in the back. Legolas quickly shot Wormtongue, but it was too late. </p>
<p>Saruman fell off his tower several feet down and landed on a large spike of an iron wheel. Everyone automatically winced at that. Gandalf ordered Théoden to send word to all their allies to find out where Sauron would strike next. The wheel started to turn and Saruman's body completely disappeared under the water. Something fell out of his sleeves and Pippin picked it up. It was the palantir. Gandalf quickly took it over from him as Pippin climbed back on the horse behind him. After saying goodbye to Treebeard, they turned around and left.</p>
<p>During the ride back to Edoras, Aragorn looked down at Lucifer in worry. After Zachariah's words, she had been very quiet. She had barely reacted to what had happened after that as if she was lost in thought. He shared a look with Legolas and Gabriel, who were worried as well. He really needed to talk with her and with Legolas about his growing feelings for the former Archangel. For now, he held her tight as they rode through the forest </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A feast and conversations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise.</p><p>Returning to Edoras, Théoden gave a great feast to celebrate their victory after remembering those who gave their lives in the battle. During said feast, Legolas and Gimli had a drinking contest. Legolas won easily as the drinks barely affected him while Gimli got more and more drunk, before finally passing out and falling backwards of his stool. "Game over." Legolas said with a smile. </p><p>The prince turned around, only to see something that he had never expected to see: a completely drunk Gabriel. "There he is. The perfect, beautiful prince." The youngest archangel slurred as she threw herself into his arms. "Gabriel, how many drinks did you have?" Legolas asked as he held her up, an amused Éomer watching from the sidelines. "Only a couple. I'm an Archangel, so I can handle it." Gabriel replied, hanging onto him. "But you're basically a human now." Legolas reminded her. </p><p>"Whatever. I'm not a good Archangel anyway." Gabriel muttered, hiding her face in his shoulder. "Now, why would you say that?" Legolas asked, gently sitting down and pulling Gabriel on his lap as Éomer left, sensing that this was a personal conversation. "Well, I couldn't even stop sau... suman... that guy from hurting Luci. I was always the weakest of the Archangels, not to be taken as seriously." Gabriel replied.</p><p>"Oh, Gabriel. That's not true. You're one of the strongest people that I know. Just because you try to be cheerful, no matter what situation, doesn't mean that you can't be taken seriously or that you're weak. It is a sign of absolute strength to keep smiling in the face of danger and darkness." Legolas muttered as he stroked her hair. Gabriel snorted, before closing her eyes and falling asleep. </p><p><em>"Oh you can search far and wide, You can drink the whole town dry, But you'll never find a beer so brown, </em><em>Oh you'll never find a beer so brown, </em><em>As the one we drink in our hometown, As the one we drink in our hometown. </em><em>You can drink your fancy ales, You can drink them by the flagon, But the only brew for the brave and true....Comes from the Green Dragon!</em>!" Merry and Pippin were singing as they danced on the tables, Gandalf watching them with a smile.Aragorn joined the wizard and asked after Frodo, but the wizard had no idea where he was.</p><p>After he had walked away, Aragorn felt someone pull on his pant leg. "Aragorn, have you seen Luci? I can't find her anywhere." A worried Pippin said. The man thought for a minute, before realising that he hadn't seen her in a while either. "I'll go and look outside." He promised Pippin, before going to do so. Luckily, he found her right outside.</p><p>She was sitting on the edge of the platform, looking out into the night. "You do realise that you're missing quite a grand feast?" Aragorn asked as he sat down next to her. "I just wanted to be alone." Lucifer confessed with a small smile, before letting it fall and looking back out over the plains. "This is about what that angel said, isn't it?" Aragorn asked. </p><p>Lucifer sighed. "You can't deny that he is at least a little bit right. I fell once. Who is to say that I won't fall again?" She asked. Aragorn looked at her. "I do. I have seen you change, Lucifer. If you had asked me in the beginning of the quest, I won't deny that I would have said something different, but after seeing you turn into the person or Archangel that you have become, I am certain that you will not fall again." He told her, carefully putting his hand over hers. Lucifer gave him a thankful smile, before they both fell silent. </p><p>After a while, they went back inside and enjoyed the rest of the feast as much as possible. Once it was over, the fellowship all convened in the same room and most of them fell asleep. Aragorn couldn't find sleep and after realising that Legolas wasn't in the room, he quietly stood up and left the room. After a small conversation with Éowyn, he found the prince on the same spot where he and Lucifer had been sitting. </p><p>Legolas gave his friend a look. "You're troubled." He stated the obvious and Aragorn sighed. "It's Lucifer, isn't it? You are falling in love with her." Legolas continued, having seen his friend interact differently with the Archangel in the past few days than before. Aragorn sighed again and nodded. The prince smiled. "It might just as well be for the best." He commented.</p><p>Aragorn gave him a surprised look, so he continued. "Aragorn, I know of your feelings for the lady Arwen, but she rejected them several years ago. Maybe it is time to let her go. From what I have seen, Lucifer does like you. You should talk to her soon." He advised. Aragorn looked down. "It is not exactly easy to let go of feelings that I have had for a long time." He said. "No one ever said that love was easy, my friend." Legolas replied, before changing the subject and talking about the darkness approaching.</p><p>In the room with the rest of the fellowship, Pippin got up and tried to sneak his way over to Gandalf, wanting to have another look at the palantir. As they were invisible to him, he accidentally kicked against Lucifer's wings and she woke up with a hiss. "Pippin, what are you doing?" She whispered at seeing him up and Merry woke up as well. </p><p>Not answering, Pippin managed to get the palantir by switching it with a vase in Gandalf's hands. "Pippin, put that back right now!" Lucifer hissed. "I just want another look at it." Pippin whispered as he uncovered the palantir and grabbed it. Just as it started to light up, Pippin got pushed out of the way by Lucifer and the Archangel took it back from him. </p><p>She was about to cover it up again, when a fiery eye appeared in the palantir. "I see you." A dark voice said as Lucifer's body started to seize, her mouth open in a silenced scream. Even though they didn't see it, her wings flared out in pain as the fallen archangel fought a mental battle. "Help! Gandalf, help!" Merry finally shouted, waking the wizard up as Aragorn and Legolas ran in. Aragorn impulsively grabbed the palantir out of Lucifer's hands and almost fainted as its darkness overwhelmed him. </p><p>The palantir tried to roll away, but Pippin was ready and covered it up again. The hobbit was incredibly shaken as he realised that it would've been him if Lucifer hasn't pushed him out of the way. "Why did she try to take it?!" Gandalf demanded, finally waking Gabriel up and Pippin quickly spoke up. "She didn't! I wanted to have a look at it. She pushed me out of the way." He said. </p><p>He refused to make Gandalf think it had been Lucifer. "Fool of a Took!" Gandalf thundered, before getting distracted by Aragorn. "Lucifer?" The ranger whispered, grabbing an unresponsive Lucifer's hand and cupping her face. Gandalf quickly kneeled next to them and used his magic on the former Archangel. With shuddering breaths, Lucifer seemingly woke up again. Everyone sighed in relief, before Gandalf asked what she had seen.</p><p>"A white tree without leaves or flowers. It was on fire. He-he wanted to know my name. I didn't want to tell him." Lucifer whispered, squeezing Aragorn's hand. "Did you tell him about Frodo and the Ring?" Gandalf asked and she shook her head, still shaking from head to toe. She had never experienced something like that before. She wondered if this was what it was like to be tortured in hell. Gandalf nodded at her, before telling her to try and get some rest, giving Pippin another stern glare.</p><p>The hobbit quickly walked forwards with tears in his eyes and apologised sincerely as Aragorn helped her sit up, holding her in his arms. Lucifer quickly forgave him, but told him never to do it again and he promised. Gabriel came to check up on her, their wings touching each other in comfort. Once everything had calmed down, everyone tried to go back to sleep. </p><p>Lucifer was still shaken up and after seeing her symptoms get worse when he let her go, Aragorn decided to lie down with her in his arms. Lucifer quickly burrowed herself in his chest, either not realising what she was doing or too shaken up to care. He just stroked her red hair and her shaky breaths eventually evened out as she fell asleep. Assured that she was sleeping, Aragorn closed his eyes and fell asleep as well</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The morning after</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise.</p><p>The next morning, they all converged in the throne room. Lucifer was slightly better, but still not completely back to her normal self, so she was sitting on a chair with Aragorn and Gabriel standing on either side of her, the ranger keeping a hand on her shoulder. Gandalf was explaining the situation to everyone. "We've been very fortunate. Lucifer saw a glimpse of the enemy's plan in the palantir." He was saying. </p><p>Aragorn unconsciously squeezed Lucifer's shoulder at that and she leaned into his touch. Gabriel glanced at them from the corner of her eyes. She had seen the man's behaviour last night and knew that something had changed between them. She would have to talk to them and especially Aragorn later. She briefly looked at Legolas, only to look down when he turned to look at her. She remembered what she had said while drunk and was completely embarrassed. What would he think of her now? </p><p>She had slowly grown to care about the prince like she never had cared about anyone before. It was both frightening and exciting. She shook her head and focused back on Gandalf's explanation as he told them that Sauron was about to attack the neighbouring kingdom of Gondor and that he now knew about Aragorn's existence. That didn't sound good at all.</p><p>At hearing that Sauron would rather raze the city of Minas Tirith to the ground, before Aragorn could claim his throne, a voice spoke up. "Don't forget that our brothers are with him, so not only will he have his own might, he will have angelic help as well." Lucifer said from her place and everyone looked even more grim than before at that little reminder.Gandalf turned to Théoden. "If the beacons of gondor are lit, Rohan must be ready for war." He said.</p><p>"Tell me, why should we ride to the aid of those who did not find to ours? What do we owe Gondor?" The king asked coldly and no one answered. Aragorn offered to go, but Gandalf rebuked that, quietly saying that he needed to take a different path. He then loudly stated that he was going himself and he wasn't going alone."Of all the inquisitive hobbits, Peregrin Took, you are the worst. Hurry! Hurry!" Gandalf called over his shoulder towards said hobbit a few minutes later as he, Pippin and Merry walked towards the stables.</p><p>"So, where are we going?" Pippin asked his friend quietly, but Merry was angry. "Why did you look? Why do you always have to look?" He asked. "I don't know. I can't help it." Pippin answered. "You never can." Merry snapped. "I'm sorry, alright? I won't do it again." Pippin promised, but that wasn't enough. "Don't you understand? Your actions hurt Luci. She pushed you out of the way and got hurt in the process." Merry whispered, just as the Archangel flew towards them.</p><p>"There you are. I was afraid I was too late to say goodbye. Aragorn didn't want to let me out, so I distracted him and flew out." Lucifer said cheerfully, but both hobbits noticed her pale expression.The three walked into the stable and Gandalf put Pippin in front of him on Shadowfax. "How far to Minas Tirith?" The hobbit nervously asked, Gandalf told him that it was a three day continuous ride, before getting on the horse as well.</p><p>Merry gave Pippin the last of his pipe weed. The poor guy asked if they would see each other soon, but Merry answered that he didn't know, before Gandalf told Shadowfax to run and the horse raced out. Merry quickly ran out of the stables as well, Lucifer immediately following as the hobbit ran up a watchtower to watch his friend leave. Aragorn saw them running and quickly followed them standing on Merry's other side as they watched Gandalf and Pippin disappear on Shadowfax in the distance.</p><p>Merry talked about how Pippin had always followed him and now he was gone like Frodo and Sam.  "Gandalf is with him and I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you." Lucifer said with a small grin. Aragorn agreed with her. "One thing I've learned about hobbits: they're a most hardy folk." He said, wrapping a comforting arm around Merry.</p><p>"Foolhardy, maybe. He's a Took." Merry said with a grin and both Lucifer and Aragorn smiled as well as they looked out. Once Merry had climbed down Aragorn looked at Lucifer. "Never do anything like that again, alright?" He asked."Yes, dad." Lucifer answered sarcastically and Aragorn gave her an unamused look. "I'm serious, my friend. You literally went face-to-face with Sauron last night. Not a lot of people can say that." He said.</p><p>"I'm not like a lot of people." Lucifer said with a grin. He gave her a small grin back and put his hand on her shoulder. "Just be careful, alright?" He asked and Lucifer nodded, before walking away to go and rest. Later that day, Gabriel went to find Aragorn herself. "So, you and Lucifer seemed pretty close this morning." She said once she had found him. Aragorn was briefly startled, before looking back down on what he was doing. Gabriel simply smirked at seeing that she had startled three usual calm ranger</p><p>"She just went through something horrifying. I was just offering her support. You were standing just as close to her." He said, hoping this wouldn't go the way he feared he would. "She's my sister. What's your excuse?" Gabriel asked, a teasing smile slowly starting to form on her face. "She's my friend." Aragorn answered. "Just a friend or do you hope it might just become something more?" Gabriel asked, having seen the way he looked at her sister.</p><p>The ranger gave her an unamused look, but she just smirked at him. "I don't know. Ever since I was a young man, I fell in love with another woman and I honestly don't know what to do." He finally answered. Gabriel's smirk turned into a genuine smile. "The lady Arwen, right? From what Lucifer told me, she rejected your love." She said gently.</p><p>"Aragorn, you're an amazing man. I know dozens of angels who would be proud to call you their Mate. I understand your feelings, but you shouldn't feel hung up about someone who doesn't return your love." She continued. "Oh, and Lucifer returns my love?" Aragorn asked sarcastically. Even Fallen, Lucifer was still an almighty being. He was just a human ranger "She just might, but I have to warn you: if you and my sister get together, it will not be easy. Lucifer was betrayed and thrown away into hell." Gabriel said</p><p>"It will not be easy if you decide to act on your feelings, if you act at all. I'm actually impressed at how fast Merry and Pippin became her friends. She has put up so many walls around herself, that she doesn't even fully realise how many herself. Do us all a favour: when or if she tears those walls down, don't turn away." She said sincerely. Aragorn looked at her, before nodding in understanding.</p><p>Gabriel left, going to find Legolas. She found him looking out over the kingdom of Rohan and went to stand next to him. "The next battles will be even harder than before." The elf said quietly and Gabriel nodded. "The final part of the race." She said, gulping slightly. Legolas glanced at her. "I'm glad that you're here." He said and she looked up in surprise, before blushing and smiling.</p><p>"Thank you." She muttered and he chuckled. "I'm serious, Gabriel. We're lucky to have you at our side. I just hope to have you at my side even after all of this is over." He confessed, carefully grabbing her hand. She stared, before slowly starting to smile and squeezing his hand. "I would really like that." She said and he immediately smiled at her, before pulling her into a hug. They stood there for quite a while, before pulling away and going inside</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm so sorry it took so long. I started another series and that literally took all my attention and inspiration. I'll try to update more often. </p><p>Read and review. See you next time</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A confession and preparing for war</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise.</p><p>A few days after Gandalf left for Gondor with Pippin, Lucifer found Aragorn sitting at the edge of Edoras, smoking his pipe. "I'm suprised it survived this far." She joked and he chuckled as she sat down next to him, her wings automatically wrapping themselves around his back. Despite his ability to see them, Aragorn had tried not to touch them unless necessary. Gabriel had told him how important wings were to angels.</p><p>Almost no one was allowed to touch them at all, except the angel themselves and their Mate. Despite already knowing that he was Lucifer's Mate, he didn't dare to touch them as he was afraid he'd go too far and ruin things. There was a comfortable silence for a while, before Aragorn swallowed. "Lucifer, you have a lot of knowledge, right?" He asked. "If this is your way of saying I'm really old, then no." She replied and they both laughed. "No, that's not what I meant at all." He reassured her, still laughing at her answer.</p><p>"In that case: I guess so. Why do you ask?" She asked. "There's a situation that I'm dealing with right now and I can't wrap my head around it." He replied slowly. "Stuck in an situation, huh? Do continue." Lucifer said, getting ready to listen. "Alright, imagine this: a man meets a woman and falls in love at seeing her kind, giving nature, but she rejects it. He keeps trying to win her love, but fails every time." He started. </p><p>Lucifer gave him a confused look, already having a pretty big feeling about who he was talking about, but unsure about where this was going. "Then, one day, a different woman walks into his life. She's pretty much the opposite of the woman the man had fallen in love with, especially in the beginning. She's aloof, cold and rude." He continued, stopping when Lucifer gave him a shove. "You really were." He defended himself.</p><p>"Just get to the point." Lucifer said. "Well, over the course of the journey they start, he finds that the woman isn't that bad and slowly becomes friends with her. Over time, however, he realises that his feelings for the woman wasn't just friendship, but love." He said and Lucifer was staring at him, red eyes wide in shock. "But what about the first woman he loved? The beautiful, kind one? She asked, not believing what she was hearing. </p><p>"She's like a star. Beautiful, but unreachable. I'll always love her in some way, but I realise it was just an infatuation of a young man who had never felt something like this before in his life. You know, I've known Arwen for sixty years and I don't really know that much about her. With you, I know your favourite food, your little habits and even what you liked to do in hell, although I probably could've gone without the last one." He said and she chuckled nervously at that, her heart hammering wildly at his words. </p><p>"I've known Arwen for sixty years and she hasn't changed a bit in those years. Lucifer, I've seen you change from a cold Archangel, who just wanted to hurry everything up and leave, to someone who saved a friend from drowning, even when everyone thought he was already dead. I've seen you interact with frightened children after the battle of Helm's Deep, calming them down and playing with them." He said.</p><p>Lucifer immediately blushed at that and looked down. He gently put a finger underneath her chin, lifted her head back up and smiled at her. "You think you could help me with this?" He asked and she smiled, knowing what he was really asking. "I think I can." She said hesitantly, lifting her hand to caress his cheek. He leaned into her touch and she smiled as they slowly leaned closer to each other.</p><p>The moment that their lips met, they felt warmth fill their bodies unlike they had ever felt before as a connection came into existence between them. Pulling back, they stared at each otherfor a few seconds, before smiling as Lucifer snuggled closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder, her wings wrapping around them. He held her close and rested his head on hers, closing his eyes for a moment as a giant weight fell from his shoulders. She had reciprocated his feelings and he couldn't feel happier about it. </p><p>He carefully reached out and caressed the back of her wings. She shivered in response and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" He asked in panic as he quickly pulled his arm back. "No. It felt really good." She immediately said as she relaxed against him. He smiled and carefully did it again, resulting in another shiver and sigh, making him chuckle this time. For a moment, it was just the two of them. </p><p>Of course, things couldn't stay that peaceful as Lucifer noticed a beacon in the distance getting lit up. "Aragorn, isn't that one of the beacons of Gondor?" She asked and he looked up as well, slowly letting her go and standing up to stare at it, before running towards the castle of Edoras. Lucifer flew up and after him as he ran up the stairs. "The beacons of Minas Tirith! The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!" He shouted as he ran into the hall.</p><p>Lucifer flew in after him and his announcement startled Théoden a bit. The king stared for a minute as everyone awaited his response. "And Rohan shall answer!" He finally said, before giving his nephew the order to muster what Lucifer assumed was their army. Everyone started to run in different directions to prepare. Lucifer took a deep breath as she realised she was going to fight again. It was just one fight after anotherBesides, now that she and Aragorn had confessed their feelings for each other, she was really nervous to lose him.</p><p>The man himself briefly caressed her cheek with a worried look at noticing her scared expression. She smiled at him, trying to convince him that she was completely alright. He didn't look really convinced, but there were bigger things to worry about. Gabriel of course noticed this and gave her older sister a questioning look. The blush she got in response made her smirk. It really was about damn time</p><p>"It seems we're not the only ones to confess our feelings." She told Legolas. He smiled. "Thank the Valar." He replied. She laughed as he pulled her along to prepare. Soon, everyone was ready. Lucifer and Aragorn had noticed Éowyn was secretly taking her sword with her. They left Edoras behind them again and rode towards a mountain. Most of the camp was at the foot of the mountain.However, a smaller camp was set up higher.</p><p>Lucifer, Aragorn, Gabriel, Legolas, Gimli and the royal family were situated in the higher camp. Walking around, Lucifer felt shivers all over. Something was off about this mountain.  She found Aragorn staring at a path that led into the mountain. She put a hand on his shoulder and he jumped and whirled around. "Hey, it's me. What is it?" She asked. Aragorn looked at the path, before shaking his head. "It's nothing. Let's go and eat." He said, grabbing her hand and pulling her along. She looked back, but didn't see anything.</p><p>After dinner, she and Merry were walking towards her tent. Merry walked into it first and frowned. "Luci, did you forget your sword?" He asked. "No, why?" Lucifer asked as she walked in, only to stare at the sword leaning against her bed. She lifted it up and pulled it out of the sheath. "Wow." Merry breathed at seeing the magnificent sword. "It's my old sword." Lucifer breathed in shock. Merry saw a note lying on Lucifer's bed and picked it up.</p><p>"<em>You've earned this. Use it wisely and never in revenge. -M."  </em>He read, before turning to the Archangel with a frown. "Who's that?" He asked. "My brother." He answered as she looked back at the sword. "I wonder." She muttered, before concentrating. Flames quickly engulfed the blade, much to Merry's shock. She smirked at seeing the flames. She may not have her powers back yet, but she was ready to end this war once and for all</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry it took so long. </p><p>On a lighter note. I was watching a movie called "The Prophecy" a few days ago and it's about angels trying to take over earth. The person playing Lucifer? Viggo Mortensen. Talk about a coincidence.</p><p>Read and review. See you next time</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. An army of ghosts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise </p><p>
  <em>That night</em>
</p><p>Lucifer found herself unable to sleep and decided to get up and walk a bit. Doing so, she found Aragorn about to leave the camp with his horse. "And where do you think you're going, ranger?" She asked, startling him slightly. "You can't come with me this time, Angel. You have to stay here." He said. Lucifer frowned at this, before walking back into her tent.</p><p>Thinking she was listening, Aragorn was about to continue on, when she came out of the tent again, strapping her new/old sword around her waist in preparation. "Well, if you think I'm going to let my Mate walk into danger alone, then you've got another thing coming." She said determinedly with a grin on her face. Aragorn gave her a look, but she simply raised her chin in reply, daring him to stop her. With a sigh, he reached out with his hand and she happily grabbed it, giving it a tiny squeeze in support. </p><p>Aragorn gave her a tiny smile in return as he looked her over. Lord Elrond had given him the remade sword of his ancestor, telling him that Arwen had convinced him to give him a chance. The elven Lord had also told him that Arwen had left for Valinor. His keen eyes immediately noticed the lack of pain and sorrow in Aragorn's face at hearing that.</p><p>He realised that the days of Aragorn pining after his daughter were over and he could guess who was responsible for that. "You love her." He had said, both men knowing he didn't mean Arwen with that and Aragorn had nodded. "She has changed. She can be a bit rough around the edges at times, but she's genuinely making an effort to stop Sauron." He had replied. </p><p>Elrond had nodded at those words, Galadriel already having told him about the changes in Lucifer and seeing the love in Aragorn's eyes when he was talking about the fallen Archangel. He had convinced the man to look for the cursed men dwelling in the mountains and call for their aid with help of the remade sword. Aragorn had reluctantly agreed, having quietly saddled Brego. Éowyn had tried to stop him or at least take Lucifer with him, having seen him look at her and having realised she didn't stand a chance with him. </p><p>Aragorn had quietly convinced her to let him go, only to be spotted by Lucifer herself as she came out of her tent, resulting in the current situation. Looking down, he frowned at seeing that she had a different sword with her. "Where did you get that sword?" He asked. "It's my old sword from heaven. Apparently, Father thought I was finally worthy to have it again." She said with a smile. </p><p>He smiled as well at hearing that, before they were stopped by Gimli, Legolas and Gabriel, who joined the two of them too. Aragorn tried to protest, but it worked just as well as it did on Lucifer as they stubbornly joined them anyway, the younger Archangel having her own horse so Gimli could ride with Legolas. The ranger just sighed and let them come as well.</p><p>Climbing onto the horses, Lucifer sitting behind Aragorn as always, they rode towards the darkened road into the mountain and disappeared into the dark. Some soldiers saw them leave and tried to stop them and call them back, but once again, they didn't listen as they went further. One of the men thought they left because they had no hope, but king Théoden knew better and said they they were leaving because they had no other choice. He had been the one to receive Lord Elrond after all. He just hoped they would succeed. </p><p>Riding all through the night and into the morning, Lucifer immediately felt all the hair on the back of her neck stand up straight as they rode through the completely silent and dreary place. Gimli unconsciously agreed with her as he looked around. "What kind of army would linger in such a place?" He whispered, his voice echoing through the rocky walls anyway.</p><p>"One that is cursed." Legolas answered, both Archangels immediately stiffening up at hearing that, their protective instincts going into overdrive. "Long ago, the men of the mountain swore an oath to the last king of Gondor. They swore to come to his aid and to fight, but when the time came, when Gondor's need was dire, they fled, vanishing into the darkness of the mountain." The elven prince continued.</p><p>Lucifer slightly tightened her grip on Aragorn during the story, not liking this one bit as she looked around to see if they would be attacked, the small road being ideal for an ambush. Legolas told them that Isildur cursed the people of the mountain never to rest, until they had fulfilled their pledge as punishment for them abandoning him when he needed them. "Aragorn, your ancestor had some anger issues." Gabriel joked feebly to try and lighten the mood a bit and some dry chuckles were heard.</p><p>Legolas gently smiled at her. This was exactly what he had meant during the feast in Edoras. Even during the darkest moments, she still managed to make people laugh and lift their spirits for even a moment and that was no weakness in his eyes. He hated the fact that she thought it was. He swore to do his best to make her see how strong she really was.</p><p>Seeing an opening in the mountain in the slight distance, they slowly got off their horses and walked towards it. Lucifer unconsciously grabbed Aragorn's free hand, having a really bad feeling about this as her wings spread out in preparation for the worst case scenario. A few feet behind her, Gabriel was of the same mind as Legolas could barely walk through her wings wrapped around him. Arriving at the entrance, Legolas read the words above it.</p><p>""The way is shut. It was made by those who are dead and the dead keep it. The way is shut."" He read. Just as he finished, a gust of air came out of the open entrance like someone blew out a breath. This was too much for the poor horses and they quickly broke loose and ran away, despite Aragorn trying to catch Brego. Turning back towards the entrance, he took a deep breath. "I do not fear death." He said, before walking in. Lucifer put her hand on the hilt of her sword, straightened her back and followed him. </p><p>Legolas turned to Gabriel and held out his hand. She grabbed it and together, they followed Aragorn and Lucifer, much to Gimli's surprise. "Well, this is a thing completely unheard of. An elf goes underground where a dwarf dare not. Oh, I'll never hear the end of this." He muttered to himself, before reluctantly following his friends into the cursed mountain.</p><p>They found a lit torch hanging on the wall and Aragorn used it to look around, his new sword into his other hand. Shining it into a hole into the wall, Lucifer wrinkled her nose in disgust at seeing the many souls. "So, did they stop having children after they were cursed? A tribe of people as big as they apparently were doesn't die out just like that." She muttered.</p><p>"I don't know. It has been a very long time since then." Gabriel said, her hand tightly holding onto her Mate's. Legolas was looking around the dark cave and Gimli quickly noticed this, brandishing his axe defensively. "What is it? What do you see?" He asked. "I see shapes of men. And of horses." Legolas answered. "Where?" Gimli asked, not seeing a thing. "Pale banners like shreds of clouds. Spears rise like winter-thickets through a shroud of mist. The Dead are following. They have been summoned." Legolas continued, before walking on. </p><p>"The Dead? Summoned?" Gimli asked, turning around. "I knew that. Very good! Very good! Legolas!" He shouted after turning back around and noticing the others moving on without him, quickly running after them. Both Lucifer and Gabriel freaked out at suddenly seeing ghostly hands rise up from the mist and pulling at them. Lucifer pulled herself free, while Gimli tried to blow them away. </p><p>Suddenly hearing something crack underneath his foot, Aragorn briefly looked down and immediately regretted it. "Do not look down." He whispered. Lucifer of course, immediately did look down and gulped at seeing skulls lying on the ground. She flew up as not to touch them. Gabriel did the same thing as Gimli tried to avoid stepping on the skulls, but it was impossible </p><p>They finally arrived at what seemed to be the entrance of a city. "Is this it?" Lucifer asked as she landed back on the ground with Gabriel now that the skulls were gone, only to immediately stiffen up, wings flared out at suddenly hearing a voice coming out of nowhere  "Who enters my domain?" The creepy voice and a green ghost appeared on the steps of the entrance. Lucifer silently took over the torch, so that her Mate had his other hand free. "One who will have your allegiance." Aragorn answered, showing no fear </p><p>"The Dead do not suffer the living to pass." The ghost said as he slowly got closer to the small group. "You will suffer me!" Aragorn ordered. The ghost king simply let out an evil laugh in return as hundreds or thousands of ghosts appeared and surrounded them to their horror. Lucifer and Gabriel pulled their swords, despite knowing that it might not do anything.</p><p>"The way is shut. It was made by those who are dead and the Dead keep it. The way is shut. Now you must die." The ghost king hissed as he got even closer. Aragorn quickly held out his arm and pulled Lucifer more behind him, mindful not to touch the literal flaming sword. She gave him a look, but didn't say anything. Legolas shot an arrow, but it didn't even do anything to the ghost.</p><p>"I summon you to fulfil your oath." Aragorn said, slowly walking forwards. "None but the King of Gondor may command me!" The king spat, going to attack Aragorn. Lucifer took several steps forward, before her Mate managed to block the blow with his sword. "That line was broken." The king hissed, before gasping as he was grabbed by the throat by Aragorn. "It has been remade." He replied as Lucifer shared a proud grin with Gabriel. Not many angels could say their Mate fought a dangerous ghost and won.</p><p>Letting the King go, Aragorn revealed himself to be Isildur's heir and promised that he would relieve them from their oath if they fought for him, walking through the many ghosts with Lucifer right behind him. She had doused the flames of her sword, but held it ready at all times. "What say you?" Aragorn asked, but the ghosts didn't answer. Gimli thought he was wasting his time. </p><p>The king let out another laugh as the ghosts started to disappear, despite Aragorn trying to convince them what he said was true. "Are you serious?" Lucifer asked with an angry hiss as the ghosts disappeared. The earth suddenly started to rumble heavily. "Uh-oh." Was all that Gabriel said, before the walls broke and thousands of skulls started to fall towards them, a ravine behind them. </p><p>Sharing a quick look, Lucifer and Gabriel immediately put their swords away and grabbed their Mates around their waists. "Hold on." Lucifer called in warning as they flew up with the men in their arms. "Hey! What about me?!" Gimli shouted. The Archangels looked at each other once again, before flying back down. They both grabbed one of Gimli's arms and flew up with a lot of difficulty just as the skulls reached them. Flying over the skulls, they managed to find an exit and squeeze themselves through it.</p><p>They crash-landed onto the grass, breathing heavily from exertion and adrenaline as they rolled onto their backs. Aragorn quickly checked up on Lucifer and cupped her cheek. "Well done." He said, before noticing the black ships Lord Elrond had told him about and the destruction they left. Noticing the despair on his face, Lucifer got up and saw it as well. She wrapped her arms around him and lowered her head as she thought of the poor souls that were now dead.</p><p>Legolas and Gabriel were doing the same and even Gimli was solemn. Hearing something behind them, they turned to see the ghost king appear. "We fight." He said. "Why, you little-" Lucifer hissed, starting to step forward and give him a piece of her mind, but Aragorn stopped her. They had the ghost army now and this were finally turning in their favour.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Read and review. See you next time</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Conversations on a ship</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise </p><p>"You will go no further."</p><p>The pirates sailing the black ships looked up at hearing these words and saw a very peculiar group of two women, one man, an elf and a deaf standing on shore. "You will not enter Gondor." Aragorn continued and they laughed, not believing him. Aragorn ordered Legolas to fire a warning shot and miss on purpose, missing the look Gabriel and Gimli shared at that</p><p>Legolas aimed and just as he was ready to shoot, Gabriel gently breathed in his ear. This distracted him as he shot the arrow and made him shoot one of the pirates instead, immediately giving Gabriel a look as Aragorn and Lucifer both sighed. "That's it. We warned you. Prepare to be boarded." Gimli said, making the vile men on the ships laugh again, despite the casualty. "Boarded? By you and whose army?" One of the pirates asked loudly. Aragorn and Lucifer shared a look as they grabbed each other's hands and looked back at the ship </p><p>"This army." They chorused together as the Ghost King and his army ran straight through them towards the pirates, making the evil men on the ships panic and very likely pee their pants as the ghosts attacked them and killed them. "I know Father told us to forgive humans, but I have a hard time doing so with these guys." Gabriel said and Legolas patted her shoulder in answer </p><p>They quickly entered the ships once the chaos was over and dumped the bodies into the water as they sailed on. On the way there, Lucifer leaned on the railing, deep in thought about what would happen once this was finally done. "Are you alright?" A voice asked and she looked up to see Aragorn join her at the side of the boat as they sailed towards the city.</p><p>"I'm just slightly lost in thought, Aragorn. Nothing more. It feels like we're nearing the end of the War now and if we actually manage to win this thing, I will hopefully be redeemed and be finally allowed to go back home after all this time of being banished." She said, looking back out over the river. "Right. You'll have to leave us one day." Aragorn said slowly, looking down at that. It had been bad enough to know that Arwen would eventually leave for the undying lands, but to realise that Lucifer would do the same thing, hurt even worse</p><p>"One day, yes and it seems that one way or another, that day is getting closer and closer and even if we ignore that, Zachariah and Uriel are still out there in the world. We don't know where they are, but they won't give up until my return to heaven is a thing of the past. I bet they're somewhere in Mordor right now, planning their next move with Sauron." Lucifer said, glaring at the sky. </p><p>Aragorn gently grabbed her hand in reply and she immediately smiled at him as she curled her fingers around his, assuring him that she was still there with him. "To be completely honest: I'm more worried about Gabriel and Legolas. You already told me that elves are bound to this world and if they die, they just get reborn eventually on another place still on this world." She started</p><p>"If they die during this war, either in this battle or the next, she'll most likely go back to heaven, but he won't." She continued, looking at where the other couple was standing further at the back of the ship. Aragorn briefly glanced at them as well, knowing that she was completely right about this and worried about his friend. "We'll just have to keep each other alive, then." He said and she smiled at him as she nodded. "I guess so, which will be a lot easier for me now i have this beauty back with me." She said, looking down at her sword.</p><p>He looked down at it as well, thankful that she got a bit of an advantage over the orcs from her Father, even if she didn't fully have her powers back yet and still had to use weapons to fight. She told him that she could wipe out the entire orc army at Helm's Deep with just a snap of her fingers if she was at full power and that made him realise just how powerful she truly was.</p><p>"I'm sure that it will give us a very nice advantage over our enemy, but will it be enough?" He asked, looking out over the shore as they got closer to the city. "We just have to believe it will be, because we'll be even more screwed if we don't." She replied, looking at him and he let out a dry chuckle. "I guess you're right." He conceded, before they both fell silent and watched the landscape go by. </p><p>Further on the ship, Gabriel and Legolas were sitting on the deck with their backs to each other as they prepared their weapons for the upcoming fight with Gimli and had a conversation of their own. "I'm sorry I made you miss your target, but I think letting you shoot someone sent a better message than you missing someone." She muttered as she sharpened her sword and he glanced at her. "Aragorn gave me an order, Gabriel and I messed it up because of you." He said, making her look down. "I know. I'm sorry." She genuinely apologised </p><p>Legolas sighed at hearing her remorse and blindly reached back to grab her hand and squeeze it. "You're forgiven, Gabriel. Just don't do it again in the upcoming battle. It might be a matter of life and death." He said. "Of course. I'm not an idiot. I know not to mess with an archer when he's in the midst of battle. I fought against Lucifer's demons often enough." She immediately protested.</p><p>"What do these "demons" look like?" Gimli asked as he tried to imagine them. From what he heard, they were like Lucifer's version of orcs, but as far as he could tell from Gabriel's stories, they didn't have orcs where they lived. "That depends on where you are. According to Luci, they have all different kinds of forms in hell, but I've never been there myself to confirm that." Gabriel started to explain </p><p>"Outside of hell, they look like moving clouds of smoke and once they enter someone's body, they control their every move until they're expelled, even if their host dies." She continued, before shaking her head. "Let me tell you this for a minute, Legolas, Gimli: nothing is as scary as seeing a giant cloud of moving smoke come towards you and know that these are all former human souls turned into demonic creatures of hell by your own sister." She whispered, stopping sharpening her sword to look down. "Like orcs." Legolas said.</p><p>"Yeah, like orcs." She agreed and he noticed her down mood. He turned to her and grabbed her hand, squeezing it to comfort her. She smiled at him and squeezed back as she put her sword down. She instead leaned against his side, her wings wrapping around him as they rested before the fight. Lucifer eventually joined them again. "Aragorn says we're almost there. Get ready." She said and they nodded as they stood up.</p><p>Hiding beneath the railing as they sailed into the city, they heard an orc scold what he thought were the late pirates. They jumped off the ships, surprising the waiting orcs as they all pulled their weapons. "There's plenty for the both of us. May the best dwarf win." Gimli said with a smirk as they charged forwards, the ghost army appearing and attacking the orcs, changing the tide of the battle for good</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Read and review. See you next time</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Preparation for the final battle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise </p><p>It was absolute chaos as they ran on the battlefield. There were orcs everywhere as well as evil men and huge elephant like creatures that neither she nor Gabriel even wanted to know what they were. With her flaming sword, she cut through orcs like butter as she made sure that she sticked very close to Aragorn. This was their first battle after they had acknowledged their feelings and she didn't want to lose him.</p><p>A flash of familiar golden hair quickly made her look up to see what had to be the back of a wounded Éowyn's head as she slowly crawled over the ground and was being chased by an also wounded and limping orc<em>. 'What the hell is she doing here?'</em> She thought in shock as she immediately veered off and left Aragorn's side for the very first time during the battle to kill the orc chasing her. In the distance, she heard Legolas and Gimli still holding their contest arms rolled her eyes. Like there wasn't a war going on right now</p><p>One of the elephant creatures almost trampled her in a moment of distraction and Aragorn pulled her out of the way just in time. "Legolas!" He shouted, ordering the prince to kill it. Briefly squeezing Gabriel's hand, he went to do just that. Gabriel helped him by flying up, distracting and already killing some of the humans riding the huge creature so her Mate could climb up, kill the rest and then the creature without much effort.</p><p>"That still only counts as one!" Gimli shouted grumpily as Legolas surfed down the creature's trunk as it fell down and Gabriel snorted as they continued on. Aragorn and Lucifer fought back-to-back, defending and attacking like they had done so for years. Lucifer let out a grunt as she took a hit for Aragorn and got cut into her side. "Lucifer!" He immediately shouted in worry at hearing her cry out in pain. </p><p>He immediately killed the orc responsible, before looking at her in concern. "I'm fine, I'm fine." Lucifer hissed as she held her side, despite clearly not being fine at all. He gave her a very sceptical look, before he had to block another attack from an orc and they had to fight on to keep living. The ghosts honestly were a really big help in clearing the field and city from orc filth and win the battle in their favour. It was a grisly, yet beautiful sight as Lucifer knew that they were on their side and were killing hundreds of orcs </p><p>With their help, the battle was over soon and the ghost king appeared to Aragorn and Lucifer. "Release us." He hissed. Gimli tried to protest the action, wanting to use them again. With a wince of pain, Lucifer kicked him to shut him up. "You gave us your word." The king insisted. "I hold your oath fulfilled. Go. Be at peace." Aragorn stated and the army disappeared, finally at peace after millennia of being cursed. </p><p>He looked at Lucifer, who playfully bowed to the best of her abilities. Seeing her wince in pain again, he had enough. "Go to the healing halls. Now!" He ordered. "No, wait! I have to do something." She immediately protested back, before flying away despite the pain it brought her. "Luci, wait!" Gabriel called as she flew after her older sister. Legolas and Aragorn shared a worried look, before following them</p><p>Landing on the ground, Lucifer frantically started to search the bodies. "Come on. Come on." She whispered to herself as Gabriel landed as well. "Lucifer, what are you looking for?" She asked. "A friend." Her older sister answered, before seeing a flash of blonde hair lying on the ground. She ran towards it as best as she could and dropped to her knees next to an unconscious Éowyn and a dead Théoden. "Oh, Dad." Gabriel breathed as she finally saw what her sister had been looking for and Lucifer pulled Éowyn into her arms</p><p>A loud scream made them both look up to see Éomer rushing towards them at seeing her sister lying in Lucifer's arms. He dropped everything as he fell down on his knees as well and pulled Éowyn out of her arms and into his own. "She's still alive, but needs healing." Lucifer told him gently. He didn't need to be told this twice as he carefully lifted Éowyn into his arms and ran off as quickly and carefully as he could</p><p>"She's not the only one." Gabriel muttered, giving her sister a very pointed look and Lucifer gave her a pained grin as Aragorn and Legolas joined them. "Someone needs to bring something here to carry the king's body into the city. He doesn't deserve to lie here." The older Archangel said weakly as she leaned against her Mate. "It will be done." He promised as he carefully lifted her up in his arms as well</p><p>"Luci! Merry's here somewhere!" Pippin shouted as he ran towards them, before seeing she was very hurt. Lucifer immediately lifted her head at this, before looking at Gabriel in a questioning and pleading way. "I'll go and help find him. "Go to the healing halls." She said, before quickly walking off with Pippin. The older Archangel sighed as Aragorn carried her towards the white city of Minas Tirith. She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Lucifer, don't go to sleep! Stay awake!" He ordered in panic</p><p>She barely managed to do so until they reached the healing halls and she gently was put on a cot. Aragorn personally helped her heal and bandage the wound. Once he was done, he stroked her hair. "You can go to sleep now." He told her and she immediately closed her eyes, finally falling asleep very soon after. While she was asleep, he went to help heal both Éowyn and Boromir's younger brother Faramir </p><p>Gabriel came by while Lucifer slept with a newly found Merry. The reckless hobbit had a rather big bump and a small wound on the head, but was miraculously fine for the rest of it as he and Pippin immediately took up their spots next to Lucifer's cot, waiting for her to wake up. Gabriel smiled at how much they cared about Lucifer, before going to find her Mate. He was checking the leftover weapons in the armoury</p><p>She walked up from behind and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head between his shoulder blades as he immediately took her hands into his and gently kissed them. "You did so well today, Gabriel." He said and she smiled as she fully relaxed against him. "That was some nice teamwork in that elephant creature, wasn't it?" She asked and he chuckled. "Yes, it was. However, let's hope we never have to kill a creature like that ever again." He replied and she happily agreed as they stood there for a while. </p><p>Back in the healing halls, Aragorn was still helping with healing the many injured people to keep his mind off the unconscious Lucifer, even though he did keep an eye on her and the hobbits. That's why he jumped when he suddenly heard Merry's voice from the other side of the room once most of the work was done and many healers were writing reports. "Who are you?" The hobbit asked suspiciously</p><p>He and Pippin glaring at the man who had snuck in and was now standing in front of them.Aragorn immediately hurried towards them and gave the man a suspicious look as well. "Can we help you?" He asked. The man smirked and bowed towards him. "I'm the Archangel Michael. Nice to meet you." He greeted. "Luci's brother?" Pippin asked and he nodded, before he looked down at the sleeping Lucifer </p><p>"May I?" He asked and Aragorn slowly nodded. Michael kneeled and healed Lucifer's wound. "Can you do that with everyone?" Merry asked. "I'm afraid I'm not allowed to interfere in the lives of men, but I will help those in the most danger." The oldest Archangel said, his hands glowing with power, before dying down. "Thank you." Aragorn said. "No, thank you, lord Aragorn. It's thanks to you and these two hobbits over here that my sister has slowly become the sister I used to know before humanity came along." Michael replied </p><p>Aragorn smiled at him, before Pippin piped up. "What about the two angels working with Sauron?" He asked curiously and Michael's face immediately darkened considerably at hearing them being mentioned. "Oh, don't worry, little hobbit. We're already busy with that." He promised, before leaving. Aragorn looked away Lucifer, who looked a lot more comfortable now and smiled as he gently stroked her hair </p><p>The next day, Lucifer felt a lot better and attended a meeting to decide what they had to do now. Gandalf told them that Frodo had vanished from his sight. "If Sauron had the Ring, we would know it." Aragorn insisted, one arm wrapped around Lucifer. "It's only a matter of time." Gandalf replied in a pessimistic tone and Lucifer raised an eyebrow. She liked him more when he was smoking his pipe and cracking jokes with the hobbits</p><p>"He's suffered a defeat, yes, but behind the walls of Mordor, our enemy us regrouping." The wizard continued. "Let him stay there. Let him rot. Why should we care?" Gimli asked from a black chair beneath the throne. Gandalf told hom that ten-thousand orcs were now between Frodo and Mount Doom and the dwarf fell silent. Seeing that Gandalf was about to give up hope, Aragorn came with a reckless idea. "There's still hope for Frodo. He needs time and save passage to cross Mordor. We can give him that." He said, looking at Lucifer</p><p>"How?" Gimli asked and Aragorn proposed to ride out and meet Sauron in battle right outside the gates of Mordor. "There's no way we'd win that. We don't have the strength." Lucifer replied worriedly and he agreed. "No, but we can give Frodo a chance by keeping the Eye fixed on us. Keeping him blind to all else that moves." He explained, wrapping his other arm around her and silently asking her to trust him. </p><p>She gave him a small nod in answer as Legolas also realised what he was planning. "A diversion." He stated, looking at Gabriel and she gave him a nervous smile back as they knew this was a very risky plan. "Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for?" Gimli asked with a smirk. Gandalf doubted Sauron would fall for it, but Aragorn was quite certain he would, squeezing Lucifer's hand</p><p>That evening, Lucifer briefly met with Gabriel in the room she'd been assigned. "If we die tomorrow, where do you think we'll go?" She asked. "Let's hope heaven. Both of us." Gabriel replied with a smile as her older sister leaned against the doorway. Lucifer took a deep breath at that, looking down in uncertainty about that. "You think I've done enough?" She asked. "I knows you've done enough. Hell, you've kissed a human at least once while the old you wouldn't dream of doing that." Gabriel answered and she smirked. </p><p>"Both Uriel and Zachariah will very likely be there as well, ready to stop this mission once and for all by any means." The older Archangel then said and Gabriel solemnly nodded in answer, looking down at the ground and playing with her sword. "I know." She muttered. "Any ideas on how to handle them?" Lucifer asked. "You're the queen of hell. Figure something out." Her sister replied and she rolled her eyes at that</p><p>She's one to talk." Lucifer muttered to herself later as she walked to her assigned bedroom, still sulking after their conversation. Aragorn was taunting Sauron with a palantir right now, so he couldn't be disturbed. "<em>"You're the queen of hell. Figure something out.</em>" As if it's that easy." She continued mockingly, before suddenly stopping in a hallway as an idea came to her. "I'm the queen of hell." She breathed, a grin growing on her face</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>We're in the final stretch now</p><p>I added an extra chapter for the epilogue I've planned</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Final battle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise </p><p>"Has anyone seen Lucifer?" Aragorn asked the remainder of the Fellowship the morning before the final battle. He had been looking for her for a while now, but she was nowhere to be found. She wasn't in the bedroom assigned to her. She wasn't in the library. She wasn't in the training field. She wasn't anywhere and with them about to leave for the final battle, he was very worried about where she could be right now</p><p>Everyone shared looks with each other. "I saw her last night. We talked for a bit, but not today." Gabriel replied, frowning in concern at hearing that her sister was not there. "Luci's gone?" Pippin asked in worry and the youngest Archangel patted his shoulder. "I'm sure she has a good reason to leave. I'll go and look again." She said, before flying away. Everyone waited nervously until she returned with a tiny note in her hands. "Found this underneath her pillow." She told them, before reading it out loud</p><p><em>"Went to get help. Go on without me."</em> She read and Gimli scoffed. ""Gone to get help," eh? Where would she get that help? We're on our own. The elves helped in the battle of Helm's Deep and lost many men there, so I don't think they can help us and I'm pretty sure we already have the last good men in Middle-Earth, so I'm really curious where she'll get this help." He spoke up and Gabriel gave him a look</p><p>"It is rather odd that she suddenly disappeared the morning before the battle." Gandalf agreed. "She does say to go on without her, so I don't think she's planning to stay away." Gabriel defended her sister. "She's right. Lucifer wouldn't leave us in time of need. She's not that person anymore." Aragorn said. "You mean that she once was like that?" Éomer, the only one who didn't know who Lucifer really was, asked</p><p>"Once upon a time, yes. But she has stopped being that particular kind of person a long time ago. She wouldn't leave us, unless she had no other choice. She said she's gone to get help and I trust her." Aragorn stated, looking at everyone. "Me neither. I trust Lucifer. She'll very likely have a good reason for leaving." Gabriel agreed, going to stand next to him. Merry and Pippin immediately went to stand with them as well in defence of the missing Archangel and Legolas joined them too. Gandalf finally agreed and they got ready to leave</p><p>Getting on Brego once they were fully ready and slowly riding out towards Mordor with the remaining men of both Rohan and Gondor, the entire remainder of the Fellowship looked around to see if they could see Lucifer flying around the sky, but they didn't see anything. They eventually arrived at the enormous Black Gate of Mordor, everyone tensed up in nerves and anticipation, knowing that this was it.</p><p>Gabriel was riding on her own horse this time and stiffened up at seeing it, her wings flared up and trembling. When no reaction came from the gate, everyone was even more nervous as time passed. "Where are they?" Pippin asked quietly, looking quite adorable in a helmet that was too big for him and Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and gabriel rode forward, Merry riding with Gabriel, Pippin with Gandalf and Gimli with Legolas </p><p>"Let the lord of the Black Land come forth! Let justice be done upon him!" Aragorn called loudly and the gate slowly opened up just a tiny bit, three figures riding out of it and towards them. Gabriel immediately growled at seeing Uriel and Zachariah riding towards them with smirks on their faces. "Where's that coward of your sister, Gabriel? Did she leave you to fight this battle on your own?" Zachariah sneered as the third creature, called the Mouth of Sauron talked about Frodo and how he had apparently died</p><p>"Not at all. She's gone to get help." Gabriel spat at him. He let out a cold laugh. "Help? From who? Your pathetic collection of humans is all that's left and even the elves don't want to help. Admit it, Gabriel. She left you to pick up the pieces." He said, only for Aragorn to cut off the head of the Mouth of Sauron at having heard enough of how Frodo had supposedly suffered before he died, saying that he wouldn't believe it</p><p>"And neither will I." Gabriel growled at her former brother. She believed in Lucifer and absolutely nothing they would say would change that. He and Uriel sneered at her, before they rode back to the gate as it opened further and hundreds of orcs were seen marching towards them. They quickly rode back towards their rather small army, who were very likely pissing their pants at seeing what was coming towards them. </p><p>"Hold your ground! Hold your ground!" Aragorn ordered as they came back. He looked around again, but still didn't see Lucifer. "Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I se in your eyes, the same fear that would take the heart of me!" He started, trying not to think of what he heard Zachariah say. Lucifer hadn't left them. She wouldn't leave them. "A day may come that the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of Fellowship, but it is not this day." He continued, riding Brego back-and-forth in front of them. </p><p>"An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of Men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day, we fight! I bid you stand, men of the west!" He shouted, lifting his sword and all the men pulled their swords as they faced the incoming orcs. Dismounting, Aragorn glared at the smug smiling angels watching over the orcs were marching towards the small group of humans. "Crush them all." Uriel muttered.</p><p>Legolas and Gabriel looked at each other, before briefly resting their foreheads against each other's to silently say goodbye. "I'm glad I got to meet you." Legolas whispered. "Me too. I hope we'll see each other again if we don't survive." She replied, kissing his cheek. He immediately smiled at her and brushed a stray hair away, before turning to face the orcs. "Never thought I'd die side-by-side with an elf." Gimli muttered .</p><p>"How about side-by-side with a friend?" Legolas suggested instead and the dwarf immediately smiled up at him. "Aye. I can do that." He immediately agreed as Aragorn heard Sauron call his name, the huge, flaming eye now completely focused on them as he had suspected. Taking a few steps forwards the huge orc army, he slowly turned to the Fellowship and the men following him, knowing that this was it. "For Frodo." He whispered, before charging towards the orcs that had now fully surrounded the human army.</p><p>"For Luci too!" Pippin shouted loudly as he and Merry were the first ones to follow him and the rest ran after them. It immediately was a whole mess of fighting bodies as the men tried to survive and buy Frodo time. It was several minutes in that Aragorn was suddenly pushed to the ground. "So, you're the coward's Mate, huh?" Uriel sneered as Aragorn got up again. "Shame she won't be here to witness your death." He continued</p><p>He made sure orcs blocked the attempts of Legolas and Gabriel to get to them as a troll came towards them. "You're not fighting me? And you call Lucifer a coward?!" Aragorn sneered and Uriel flicked his wrist, pain shooting through the man's body, making him fall. The troll was suddenly distracted by something on the cliffs. Looking up, Aragorn saw a lone figure standing there, light coming from her. "Lucifer." He breathed</p><p>Lucifer coldly looked at the mayhem beneath her, before briefly looking over her shoulder. "Remember: if I find out any of you has hurt one single human, you will regret it for the rest of eternity, understood?" She hissed and many voices agreed. She nodded, before lightening up her sword and pointing it at the fight below. "CHARGE!!!!" She screamed as she flew towards the fray, a moving cloud seemingly following her down. Legolas saw it first. "Are those clouds?" He asked. "No. Those are demons." Gabriel breathed</p><p>Hundreds of demons flooded the battlefield, using the already dead bodies and killing many orcs. Uriel backed up at this, realising that Lucifer really hadn't left. He turned to flee back towards Zachariah, only to see a pissed off Lucifer standing there, having snuck up on him in the mayhem and having seen his attempted attack on her Mate. "Father sends His regards." She hissed, before stabbing him with her glowing sword. </p><p>Dropping his burned vessel to the ground and killing the troll, Lucifer quickly helped Aragorn up. "Did you miss me?" She asked and he smiled, before they went to fight together. The Nazgûl tried to attack, but the eagles came to help. The fallen Archangel was heavily fighting orcs, when she suddenly felt a blast in her back, throwing her to the ground. "Lucifer!" Aragorn shouted, before getting forced up into the sky to watch. </p><p>"Lucifer, Lucifer.  Why do you always have to make things so difficult. We're working in Heaven's favour and yet, you ruin that plan and you kill your own brother. You honestly think that you'll still be allowed in heaven?" Zachariah asked and she glared at him as she stood up and glanced at where Aragorn was visibly fighting the hold and was in clear pain. "Let him go, Zachariah. Your fight is with me and no one else." She hissed. "For once, I actually agree with you." He said, before throwing the ranger towards a bunch of remaining orcs </p><p>"No!" Lucifer screamed, before one demon caught Aragorn and brought him to where Legolas and Gabriel were. Seeing that her Mate was safe, Lucifer stormed towards Zachariah with a furious cry. "You think. You can threaten. My Mate!?" She screamed, lashing out with the sword every other word. "Yes, I do. It's over, Lucifer. Sauron has won and I will deliver him your Mate personally." Zachariah answered, blocking her hits.</p><p>As if on cue, Sauron suddenly started to screech and its eye whirled around wildly, getting everyone's attention. "What's happening?" Zachariah asked. "I do believe that Sauron's losing." Lucifer answered with a smirk and she was proven correct as Sauron's tower started to crumble and fall, the Eye eventually exploding into nothing. Lucifer tried to attack again, but Zachariah disappeared. "Coward!" She screamed. </p><p>She then had to catch Aragorn as he fell. "Are you alright?" She breathed. "I'm fine. We won." Aragorn answered, resting his head against her chest. Legolas and Gabriel managed to join them as they watched Sauron's destruction, the ground breaking and swallowing the orcs They heard Merry cheer Frodo's name and smiled, before Mount Doom erupted and those smiles fell. Aragorn almost fell to the ground as Lucifer shot up and went towards it. "Lucifer, no! It's too dangerous!" Gabriel screamed as she went after her, ignoring her Mate calling her back. </p><p>Having destroyed the ring, Frodo and Sam barely managed to escape the lava, climbing onto a rock with no way out or off the volcano. They were about to accept that this would be their end, when they suddenly heard voices calling their names in the distance. "Frodo! Sam!" A familiar voice screamed and Sam looked up. "It's Ms. Lucifer and Ms. Gabriel." He shouted happily to Frodo, before starting to wave like crazy</p><p>"Ms. Lucifer! Ms. Gabriel! Over here." He shouted as loud as he possibly could. Gabriel saw them first and shot towards them, Lucifer closely following behind. Gabriel grabbed Sam and lifted him up in her arms and Lucifer took Frodo. "Oh, you have no idea how happy we are to see you and... what happened to your hand?!" Lucifer asked in shock at seeing Frodo's bitten off finger. "It's a long story." The hobbit muttered as they flew back. </p><p>Everyone else was nervously waiting for news and none more than Aragorn and Legolas as they feared the worst to have happened to Lucifer and Gabriel. When they finally saw the two Archangels flying towards them and especially when they noticed the two hobbits in their arms, loud cheers started to erupt from everyone. The cheers only got louder and louder as they landed and Lucifer handed the injured Frodo to Gandalf. Aragorn wasted no time and pulled her into his arms." Never do that again." He muttered.</p><p>"Can't promise anything." She muttered as she immediately hugged him back. Looking over, she saw the cloud of demons hovering nearby with the bodies other demons were currently inhabiting as they waited for her final order. She pulled free and went to them. "You guys did great and I bet it was very nice to kill again, but I'm not going back to hell. Azazel, Crowley." She called and two bodies rushed forwards </p><p>"You'll be in charge for the rest of eternity. Put Asmodeus in charge of all the rapists and paedophiles. Lilith in charge of all the murderers. Make sure Aaron keeps things cool between the demons and you know what, put Beelzebub in charge of those who want to punish one or a few souls in particular. That should cheer him up. Now go." She ordered and they nodded, before the demons left the bodies and flew away</p><p>"Well done." Another voice said and everyone turned to see Michael with another angel. "You've finally managed to finish the mission and you actually listened to our Father this time. You know what that means." Michael continued as a bright light started to shine behind them. "You can come home, Lucifer." The other angel, Raphael, spoke up and Lucifer slowly walked towards the light. "Luci?" Pippin spoke up but Aragorn stopped him. Lucifer looked at them, before she gently grabbed Michael by the arm and pulled him aside to talk</p><p>Aragorn turned around at this. He had known that this moment would come, but hadn't thought it would come so soon. He didn't want to see Lucifer leave, even though he knew that he likely wouldn't see her again after this. He just couldn't see her leaving them, leaving him. Legolas joined him when Gabriel had to go to her siblings as well, both preparing for the moment their hearts would break forever. </p><p>"They're leaving." Pippin said and Aragorn closed his eyes as he felt the warmth of the light disappear. "Man, I don't know about you, but I'm starving." Lucifer's voice said and he whirled around to see her and Gabriel still standing there. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you go home?" He asked and Lucifer walked towards him with a smile, wrapping her arms around his neck and looking into his eyes as her sister did the same with Legolas. </p><p>"Don't you see, Aragorn? With you, I <em>am</em> home." </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Phew. Big chapter.</p><p>Don't worry about Zachariah. He'll get what's his very soon</p><p>Read and review. See you next time</p>
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